Is it real? Photo of railway track bent by the heat looks fake but isn't

These days it's best to take any image uploaded on the internet with a grain of salt.

And many did just when they first saw a photo of a piece of bent railway track that had supposedly buckled in extreme heat in country Victoria.

The photo had to be a fake, was the verdict on social media.

A railway track that was bent in the heat near Speed in western Victoria.Credit:Phil Down

But the picture is very much legitimate, according to the farmer who took it.

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Phil Down was crossing the railway line near Speed, a small farming town south of Mildura in the state's west, last month when he saw the kink and thought it would make an interesting snap.

At the time the Mallee was experiencing a run of 40-degree days.

"Absolutely it's real, there's been a lot of people saying it's Photoshopped but I can guarantee it's not," he said.

"I can assure you it hasn't been edited, it's just how I saw it. I crossed the railway and I thought 'that's interesting' and reversed back and took a photo."

After posting the photo on Facebook, Phil sent it to his local newspaper, the North West Express. It then took off on social media via the local ABC radio station.

The photo then led to criticism of rail authorities.

The piece of railway, which is used for freight not passengers, is actually in the middle of an upgrade as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project. More than a 1000 kilometres of track is being converted from broad to standard gauge.

The piece of railway track bent in 40-degree heat. Credit:Phil Down

The process involves narrowing the width of the tracks from 1600 to 1435 milimetres and will allow heavier freight to be moved.

A V/Line spokesperson said crews were working to convert the section of rail near Speed when it warped during extreme heat.

As part of the job, the rail had been left unfastened from the sleepers underneath.

"As the upgrade is completed, rail is moved into place, secured and goes through a destressing process to ensure it can handle high temperatures," the spokesperson said.

The rail in the photo had not yet gone through final stage of tests before the heat kicked in.

Phil, who farms wheat and sheep, said he didn't expect to cause such a fuss when he took the photo and put it online.

"I read some of those comments, I think people are taking it bit too seriously," he said.

"I thought it was bit funny, I didn't think people would get stuck in to the railway workers."

The track has since been straightened and the line reopened to trains.